Friday’s changing weather conditions in the Burgundy region had a notable influence on the qualifying session for the 2nd round of the FIA certified French F4 Championship.
The track was thoroughly soaked when the 32 FFSA Academy drivers headed out for 30 minutes in what was one of the crucial moments of the competition. As the laps ticked by, the racing lines quickly dried out, leading to a suspenseful end to the session. Red flags only complicated an already challenging situation for the young drivers to navigate, as they were forced to return to the pits on two occasions.
As expected, the best lap times were set in the very last minutes, bearing in mind that each driver’s track position was also important when leaving the pit lane. Arriving as the Championship leader, Guillaume Bouzar held his nerve. Clocking a 1:27.041 on his penultimate lap, he claimed pole position for Race 1, having also set an excellent second-best time to secure first place on the starting grid for Race 3.
Hailing from neighboring Franche-Comté, Lilian Soares was thrilled to set the 2nd fastest time ahead of Arthur Eschalier, the surprise package of the session. Initially stopped in his tracks by a red flag that prevented him from achieving his expected performance, Belgian driver Thibaut Ramaekers managed to snatch the 4th fastest time at the very last moment, ahead of Tom Dussol and Hugo Herrouin, who had set the fastest time in the morning’s free practice on slick tires.
American Jack Iliffe emerged in 7th position ahead of Jules Avril and the best of the 10 female drivers, Italy’s Ginevra Panzeri, who had been forced to withdraw from the opening round in Nogaro. Qualifying 10th, Oscar Goudchaux will have the honor of starting from pole position in Race 2, which features a reverse grid for the top 10 from the qualifying session.
It was a disappointment for one of the Nogaro winners, Matthéo Dauvergne, who will start from the back of the grid in all three races. Thanks to an excellent second-best lap time, certain drivers will start in the top 10 for Race 3, such as Austrian Clara Stiebleichinger, Australian Lewis Francis, Sasha Beisemann, and Angelina Proenca.
These dramatic turns of events should make for some action-packed racing this May 16 and 17, with sunshine expected to return over the Dijon-Prenois circuit.
Photo © KSP – Guillaume Veuve
